Cultural Values
Story by Jim Algie
With Bangkok recently being named the number one tourist city in the world by readers of the American magazine Travel and Leisure (circulation one million) and the city’s Peninsula Hotel also coming in first in their reader’s survey of the top hotels, and now with the series of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings on the horizon, it looks like Thailand is really becoming the tourist hub of Asia for both business travelers and culture vultures.
Since somewhere around 10,000 delegates and members of the media will be descending on the city for the APEC forum, the country’s reputation can only be enhanced by all this press coverage and economic goodwill. Considering the wealth of festivals on offer this month, the timing for these meetings – from October 16-21 – is impeccable.
As the government is planning several events to welcome the delegates, a number of activities are scheduled throughout the month of October. The night of nights is October 20. That’s when, for the first time since His Majesty the King’s Golden Jubilee in 1997, the royal barge procession will wind down the Chao Phraya River, past the Grand Palace. Some 50 barges and more than 2,000 oarsmen will take part in this specially orchestrated event, while the statesmen of the 21 APEC nations, as well as many other visiting leaders from the US, China and Russia, dine on classical Thai cookery from benjarong (five-colour) plates.
Expect big throngs of onlookers to crowd the banks and piers of the river for a glimpse of the stately vessels. Adorned with a figurehead of a mythical swan (which is also the symbol of the APEC forum) is the barge that has ferried many monarchs of the Chakri Dynasty down the river to deliver robes to the monks at the Temple of Dawn.
Indeed, that ceremony was normally reserved for the last day of Buddhist Lent. This year, it falls on October 10. We should expect some of the APEC delegates involved with tourism arrive early, though, on a mission to find out how Thailand has attracted so many visitors to its shores and cities.
In that case, they should definitely check out the Illuminated Boat Procession and Naga Fireballs in Nong Khai province. The festival goes off on Oct. 10-11. In recent years, it’s become a phenomenon, founded on old-world mysticism but revitalized by a popular movie from 2002 called Mekong Full Moon Party. Set during the festival, the film examines both sides of the debate between those who believe that the hundreds of fireballs shooting out of the Mekong River every year on the last night of Buddhist Lent are produced by Phaya Nak (an enormous, legendary serpent reputed to dwell in the depths of the river) or are simply the special effects caused by methane gas deposits set off by the pull of the tides and full moon.
Whether people gravitate towards a scientific or supernatural explanation, they come in droves, in the tens of thousands, for good luck, or just to see what all the fuss is about.
Surely all those millions of viewers gorging themselves on Asia’s unusual rites and traditional fetes on the Discovery Channel must be a sign of some seismic shift in the thinking of today’s travelers. And as the world becomes more homogenized with fast-food franchises, monster malls, and cineplexes, people yearn for holidays that will help them escape from the humdrum routines of their normal lives.
The bottom line here is that vintage culture is becoming more popular among modern-day travelers. And you can bank on the fact that increasing tourism revenues by making better of their country’s cultural charms and natural attractions will figure prominently in the APEC summit. Hence, this is an excellent chance to promote the country’s indigenous arts and crafts, in addition to the “one product, one tambon” programme.
Since October is the end of the rainy season, the rivers are still running rabid at their mouths, and traditional boat races (now here’s a potential chase scene for a James Bond movie) make some waves across the country. October 18 and 19 are your potential dates for riverside revelry up in Nan province. Closer to Bangkok, there are the long-tail boat races and Buddha image processions in the Lang Suan district of Chumpon province on Oct. 11-15.
If you’d prefer to play the wild card in the deck of this month’s big events, you could gamble on the Buffalo Races in the capital of Chonburi province on October 9, when these beasts of burden become unlikely thoroughbreds. Also on the cards is a kind of mock beauty contest when the farmers dress up their ‘steeds’ to compete for a prize.
Bangkok also has much to recommend it this month. The end of Buddhist Lent, celebrated in homage to the Buddha after he returned from three months in heaven, paints a vivid picture of the Thai peoples’ piety on Oct. 10. Four days later is the birthday of democracy in Thailand. For the 30th anniversary of the monumental, pro-democracy uprising, a number of events are slated. All around the monument, at the crossroads of Ratchadamnoen and Tanao, and around Thammasat University, will be concerts, photo and art exhibitions, and tributes to those slain in the upheaval.
As long as it doesn’t rain on too many parades, visitors to the Kingdom are spoiled for choice this month.
